Aravaipa Race

This was Sherri Harvey’s race! She wanted to run a 100k so we looked at several spring races to choose from that wouldn’t interfere with her spring motorcycle riding days and she picked Black Canyon. As soon as they opened the race to a waitlist only we put our names on the list. It was around six weeks before the actual race day that they finally invited the waitlist into the race. We had expected it to happen so we kept our training up planned on being able to run it.

We made our travel arrangements and dialed in our runs and training. If you don’t know Sherri Harvey there’s a few things you should understand about her. She is an engineer and she likes everything neat and orderly and by that I mean she likes a schedule. If her schedule says we are “supposed” to run 18 miles, we run 18 miles because that’s what the schedule says. More on this later.

We headed to Phoenix, Arizona a couple days before the race. Sherri had never been there, never experienced their awesome running trails or even seen the big saguaro cactus before. We were more than excited to run this race as we travelled to Arizona. We were both a little disorganized, forgetting things, losing things and last minute race changes. It was nice to have the extra day to get it all together.

I’d run this race two years before and felt pretty confident in how Araviapa Running is able to put on outstanding events. On race morning you are picked up by a shuttle from the designated parking location and taken to the start. This year with Covid it was much more complicated with specific shuttle times based on your race start time. But just as I knew would be the case, the whole race, which has literally hundreds of runners, came off flawlessly.

Race Director, Jubilee Paige

We immediately met up with local Atlanta friends Chris Girard and Ellen Comeaux at the start. Wave starts were every 15 minutes with thirty runners in each. We were spaced out and welcomed by the amazing race director, Jubilee Paige. I have a major girl crush on Jub! She’s full of energy, talented, fun and an outstanding race director, what’s not to love about her!

Social Distanced Starting line with Chris and Ellen!

It was a chilly morning start which is typical for this race and February desert weather. Sherri and I had discussed a sort of race plan which was mostly to go out slow and just enjoy the day. The number one goal was to finish. We probably should have discussed a “break up” plan but we had run a 100 mile race together with no issues, this was a far shorter race. No problem. Of course, nothing is a problem until it is. We ran Mountain Mist a few weeks earlier a little too fast at the start and had a great race the first half but then struggled the second half. Our goal this race was not to do that again.

Sherri likes to have a race aid station chart which I usually make for each of us. This time I only made one for me, assuming she had made hers. Then the last minute change in our start wave, made the cutoff times wrong on my sheet. Harvey likes her schedules. She likes to take the chart and figure out in her head what time we will get to the next aid station and how far to get there. I’m more of a run by feel runner. I run what’s comfortable and Harvey needs time to warm up and find her groove.

Trying to take in the view and let Sherri set the pace

The race started and we were on paved roads for maybe a mile or so before hitting the trail. It seemed like a slow comfortable pace to me, we chatted and neither of us was redlining with some crazy pace. I don’t remember how long it was before Harvey started saying we were going out too fast. She was telling me our pace. Yes doing math in her head, or from her watch and I was sure she was wrong because it didn’t feel too fast to me. It was comfortable and I felt really good. The beginning of this race is largely beautiful downhill running. You are warned not to go out too fast because the course is deceiving. The second half is tough.

Finally Harvey told me that if I was having a great day I should leave her. But this was her race. I didn’t really care how fast we went, I was enjoying the day. Hence the need for the “break up” talk. We were going to run it together so I would wait every so often giving her a chance to catch up. I took pictures of her running and enjoyed the scenery. I don’t think she was at all impressed with my picture taking or telling her to smile.

How can you not have a great day here?

If I had to guess I’d say the further we went the more frustrated she got with me, and I was feeling so good. We tried to get Harvey to recover and bounce back as I was certain she would. With each section the distance between us seem to widen and the wait at the aid stations just a bit longer. No breakup plan still. I will say that when the 20 MPH headwinds kicked up, it did make things considerably tougher.

We rolled into the 30k mark just halfway into the race. I was only feeling better as the day progressed and Sherri was clearly worse. The next section was a little longer and once we got onto that section, the gap really widened. I began chatting and enjoying the company of several other runners before settling in with a couple younger guys. We kept a solid pace getting to Black Canyon City aid station at around mile 37.4. It was getting dark and now it was clear Harvey and I were definitely breaking up. I could run with one of the guys I’d been with and not have to be alone in the dark for the second half which promised to be much tougher.

Smile Harvey, this is supposed to be fun!

I got my drop bag here, changed into a dry shirt, grabbed my headlamp, my waist lamp and poles, then got some food. Just as it was starting to rain and I was going to take off, Harvey came in and let me know her plans to drop. I could clearly see her swollen knees and the pain in her face. Finishing would be very painful for her so she made the decision to accept her first DNF.

My new friend John and I took off for the next long section. Sherri would go back to our car and hopefully jump in to crew for me at the Table Mesa aid station some 13.5 miles later. I didn’t expect her to make it there in time, but the long sections of climbing definitely made the second half slower. We continued to run strong on the downhill’s but the long uphill climbs were slower. I was happy to see Sherri at Table Mesa. She was in a good mood, maybe the first all day, and made sure I had gotten something to eat and that I had everything I needed.

Now John and I were off towards the finish. Around 7.7 miles to the next aid and then 3.6 to the finish. Most of the time I led the way for John. He liked the pace I was setting and I was climbing the uphills really well. This section would find John on a bit of the struggle bus. I could tell he was in pain but he never said a word. This was his first 100k and after we hit 50 miles this was all new territory for him. We had a lot of climbing in that section and he said he probably couldn’t run any more. We had a really strong hiking pace so it wasn’t a concern and we had more than enough time to finish in his goal.

Finally, the last aid station. I tried quickly to put fresh batteries in both of my lights while the aid station workers were trying to give out shots of fireball. Sadly, they couldn’t seem to get any takers. I quickly said “I’m from Georgia. We have fireball at every race, I’ll take a shot.” Clearly Arizona shots are not the same as Georgia shots. They handed me a cup with what was closer to 3 shots. No problem, I only had just over 3 miles to go. John said the aid station workers told him the trail was smooth to the finish. He must have smelled the barn because now he led the way and we ran the entire 3.6 miles with him crossing the finish line just before me. Excellent day on the beautiful Black Canyon trails! I was definitely in my happy place all day. Sad not to get to finish with Harvey so she could get a second buckle but I’m sort a 100-mile buckle purist. I don’t really like buckles for less than 100 miles. It was bittersweet but sweet none the less.

Harvey we’ll find another epic race adventure to run but, in the meantime, you are still one of my favorite pacers!

I’ve been wanting to run an Aravaipa Race for a long time now. They seem to have so many great races and I really wanted a chance to experience one for myself. As soon as the 2019 Black Canyon 100K race opened for registration, I talked several of my local running friends into signing up and join the fun. When I got a chance to meet Jamil Coury at Western States in 2018, I told him we had a big group coming from Georgia for the Black Canyon race. A lot of us signed up, but many didn’t actually make it to the race, due to injuries.

We flew out to Phoenix on Thursday before the race so we could settle in and have Friday to rest and go to packet pickup. We had a good dinner and went to bed early for the early race start. Due to heavy downpours that occurred on Thursday, they had to re-route the course at the last minute. Huge shout out to Aravaipa Running for all the work that went into that and how smooth the whole race went. They have tremendous volunteers with very well organized aid stations. Runners had plenty of options, no matter what your diet might be.

Starting Line Photo

Because Black Canyon is a point to point race (which, by the way, is one of my favorite race types), we were shuttled to the starting line. The temps were pretty cool but not crazy cold. We left our drop bags, used the bathrooms and started the race right on time.

David and I hung out before the race

John, Stephanie and I all started together

Black Canyon is a race that easily lulls you into thinking it will be a fast and easy run. It essentially starts with a lot of very non-technical trails that are mostly downhill. Many runners might find it difficult to keep from going out too fast and crash later as the day warms up. Stephanie flew out from Knoxville and we once again got to enjoy the trails together. She is much better at setting a manageable pace at the beginning than myself. I’m one of those runners that goes out too fast and doesn’t settle into my own pace until much later. I have been dealing with Piriformis Syndrome for several months and while it is much better, there was the real possibility of it being a long painful day. I knew I had to let Stephanie lead and go easy.

The start turned out to be windy and cold, with a little rain, but it soon cleared away into a very beautiful and comfortable day. I was enjoying my morning and the beginning of the race until somewhere around mile 10. I began to get that uncomfortable feeling in my Piriformis I had been dreading. I was also beginning to have trouble keeping pace with Stephanie, although I could see she wasn’t far ahead on the beautiful winding trails through the desert. I chatted easily with those around me and enjoyed the beautiful Black Canyon Trail. Somewhere before mile 20 and the Bumble Bee Ranch Aid Station, I began to think I needed to tell Stephanie to leave me and thought my day might be much rougher than I wanted it to be.

Luckily, as it often happens, you get a little renewed at the aid stations. At this aid station, I ended up getting to meet, and got help from, a Facebook friend who I knew from Ginger Runner Live! That seemed to change my mood. Stephanie and I chatted and I told her my fear of keeping up with her, but she assured me she didn’t want to go any faster.

Kim Wrinkle took good care of me

I left that aid station feeling good, and Stephanie and I enjoyed some beautiful views and took a few pictures in the next section of trail. Running through the desert is so different from our normal runs so we both took it all in. I think we both felt a little unsure if we would be able to finish with a sub 17-hour time, which is the requirement for it to count as a Western States Qualifier, but we didn’t discuss those thoughts. Our goal was to move forward. We are both solid runners and hikers, and this course was very runnable.

After we got to the Gloriana Mine Aid Station (mile 23), the trail got much more technical with lots of rocks. Most of the race was on single track and often had a good bit of rocks, but those are some of my favorite trails. As long as we kept running steady, my Piriformis remained uncomfortable but not unbearable. I wasn’t as fast on the hills, but with Stephanie pulling me along, I seemed to have my moments of rallying. It was also fun in this section as we began to see the top runners racing for the Western States Golden Tickets and cheer them all on. We made it into the Black Canyon City Aid Station (mile 35) where the reroute of the course began. At this point we had to do a 4 mile out-and-back section before we would head back to the Gloriana Mine Aid Station and back again to finish.

I saw Michael and Rebecca Richie just before getting into the Black Canyon City aid station who said David was behind them at the aid station. Stephanie and I made a quick stop and we headed out for our 4 mile out-and-back. I didn’t have time to look around and say hi to David. A mile or so out from the aid station we ran into John, who was headed back into the Black Canyon City aid station. He also updated us that David was roughly two miles ahead of him. So everyone was doing well. Stephanie and I began to set small goals for ourselves. We wanted to be back and leaving the Black Canyon Aid Station by 5:00 pm. We kept moving and were happy to make our goal. We now began the 11 miles back to Gloriana Mine aid station, and then return the same 11 miles back to the finish. There was a lot of climbing and some big hills midway through this section. We just broke it down into small pieces and took it one step at a time. About 4 miles or so from the aid station we passed Michael and Rebecca again. They told me David had slowed down but they were doing great and everyone was in good spirits. We kept our eye out for David and John as we were on the last section leading into Gloriana Mine. We finally came across John who again said David was in front of him by a couple of miles. In the dark, we had somehow missed him but that wasn’t so surprising. This section became a little tough in the dark and then you were constantly passing other runners on the single track. We tried not to shine our lights in the other runner’s faces but it was a constant passing game that seemed to slow us down. This was one of the downsides to having an out-and-back course with 700 registered runners! We reached our next goal of getting to the aid station by 8:00 pm and were happy to be headed back to the finish. We now knew we would easily make the sub 17-hour time we wanted.

Stephanie continued to lead us at a good pace through the technical trails and back to more runnable dirt road sections. We were able to dig deep and run much better through this section than we had the previous time. We both seemed motivated to not just finish but finish strong. We were thrilled to finished in just under 16 hours and meet our goals. I would like to think we worked together, but I know it was all Stephanie. She pulled me along and paced us the whole race. We’ve covered a lot of miles together over the last year or two, and hope we have many more miles and adventures together.

This was a very well run race by Aravaipa Running and I hope to do another one of their races again sometime soon!

Finish line, all smiles